I love my diesel powered wheelbarrow

[vi edit]

My old ZTR mower blew out the hydrostats and they were unrepairable. Thankfully I had an extended warranty that paid me back the purchase price. So instead of getting another $2000 disposable lawn tractor I did what any self respecting ATOT would do...went waaaaaay overboard on a new tractor.

:awe:

Ended up getting a Kubota BX series (actually on a tip from another AT'er) and splurged for the front end loader.

Best. Yard. Tool. Ever.

https://skydrive.live.com/?sc=photo...80E134A82A&id=E46BB480E134A82A!2608&sc=photos

https://skydrive.live.com/?sc=photo...80E134A82A&id=E46BB480E134A82A!2609&sc=photos

I moved 3000 pounds of mulch to beds all around the house in an hour.

300+ pound loads of landscaping block get loaded right out of the car and into the bucket and hauled where ever I want them.
https://skydrive.live.com/?sc=photo...80E134A82A&id=E46BB480E134A82A!2610&sc=photos

When snow comes around this year I can actually dig myself out easily when the plows burry me in.

I've got a lot of light timber clearing I need to do over the next couple years so I'll be doing demo work on half acre of scrub brush.

Also digging out a hole in the side of a hill in my back yard with it to build in a garden shed.

I actually find myself making up projects to use this critter. And with a little 17HP diesel engine it's an absolute gas miser. I've used 6 gallons of gas in 16 hours of work, much of which was pretty aggressive dirt engagement. It uses half the fuel my old 20HP Kohler gasser did.

My 4 year old also loves running the bucket. At least the dumping the dirt part of it.

 

[DAGTA]

I read the title as "diesel powered wheelchair" and started to laugh.

 

[ViviTheMage]

yup, front loaders are schweet.

 

[Rubycon]

And with a little 17HP diesel engine it's an absolute gas miser. I've used 6 gallons of gas in 16 hours of work, much of which was pretty aggressive dirt engagement. It uses half the fuel my old 20HP Kohler gasser did.

How did you do that? Most diesels won't even start with gas in the tank!

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Once you go hydraulic, you never go back.

 

[vi edit]

How did you do that? Most diesels won't even start with gas in the tank!

It's uh....a hybrid?

 

[Rubycon]

Haha funny you mention that, reminds me of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDRKND5PXiA

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Haha funny you mention that, reminds me of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDRKND5PXiA

My granddad never had that much trouble starting his tractor and he ran on moonshine.

 

[Stifko]

that is a nice little machine. did you ever use a toro dingo? my neighbor lends me his if I need it.

 

[DrPizza]

Awesome yard tool, but you already hinted at a particular truth: while it makes the work a lot easier to do, you'll invent more than enough work to make up for it. Wait til you decide to purchase a big 4 foot rototiller attachment so that you can octuple the size of your garden.

 

[Hoober]

All this makes me want to do is buy more land so I have an excuse to buy an over-sized lawn tractor.

Fate, you are a harsh mistress.

 

[vi edit]

that is a nice little machine. did you ever use a toro dingo? my neighbor lends me his if I need it.

Haven't used one, but I've seen others play work with them. Look like fun little critters. I needed something that I could mow with and do some other jobs around the yard. These BX tractors are 4WD, fully hydraulic and have a rear PTO & 3PT hitch so they are capable little buggers. I have the smallest model (1860) so the rear PTO power is a little on the low side...something like 14HP to the rear PTO. It's enough to run a very small cultivator or slowly operate a post digger, but it can't do stuff like woodchippers or large brush hogs.

Most things I'll be using are on the front end anyway. FEL, blade, and maybe a snow blower at some point. I've used the crap out of the bucket so far. My wife thought I was insane wanting one, now she realizes how much of a time and back saver it is

 

[_Rick_]

Let me guess, your next mower will be tracked and equipped with a crane, while being turbine powered?

 

[vi edit]

I've got a few uses for a crane. :hmm:

I also could really find some use for a backhoe too.

 

[dougp]

How do you split your wood for the winter? By hand? Because once you get a hydraulic splitter, you'll never go back - not sure if yours can power one or not.

 

[vi edit]

I don't have a woodburner. The only time I've ever split wood is when a tree falls and I needed to chunk it out to make it manageble to move. Then it either gets sold for cheap or turned into weinie roast fire fodder.

 

[Northern Lawn]

Kuboto that's a good brand. I wish I had a Kuboto Zero lawn mower.

 

[vi edit]

Kuboto that's a good brand. I wish I had a Kuboto Zero lawn mower.

Funny part is that I live about 20 mintues from Catepillar corporate HQ and 1.5 hours from John Deere corporate HQ. Orange tractors around here get you funny looks.

 

[Stifko]

How do you split your wood for the winter? By hand? Because once you get a hydraulic splitter, you'll never go back - not sure if yours can power one or not.

I just got a used 28 ton hydraulic splitter and it is amazing. It is a pleasure to split wood with.

 

[JoeBleed]

do you mind sharing how much you paid for it? I just bought a 2k "disposable" lawnmower because i just couldn't justify the cost right now after just buying a house. I was looking at one like you have and John Deere's competing model. I've found there were pros and cons to all of them of course. I started this quest because i wanted a diesel powered mower. seems to get to that, you pretty much have to go mini-tractor route.

How well does yours cut grass? have you had a need to remove the deck to do any of the other work? how tall was the grass you tried to cut and how fast did you try cutting it? I still want to get one, but it may be a couple of years before i do. Are you mulching or side/rear discharge?

Thanks,

 

[drnickriviera]

make sure you put some counterweight on the back end when you are using the loader. I've blown out the front bearings on my L series twice. When you have a good load up front, it can teeter on the front axle on rough terrain.

 

[OutHouse]

all said and done, how much did that set you back?

 

[waggy]

nice. i looked at getting one but i just can't justify the $8k price tag.

 

[vi edit]

do you mind sharing how much you paid for it? I just bought a 2k "disposable" lawnmower because i just couldn't justify the cost right now after just buying a house. I was looking at one like you have and John Deere's competing model. I've found there were pros and cons to all of them of course. I started this quest because i wanted a diesel powered mower. seems to get to that, you pretty much have to go mini-tractor route.

How well does yours cut grass? have you had a need to remove the deck to do any of the other work? how tall was the grass you tried to cut and how fast did you try cutting it? I still want to get one, but it may be a couple of years before i do. Are you mulching or side/rear discharge?

Thanks,

It was right at 14k with 0% for 60 months through Kubota. I was cross shopping with the Deere x700 series and the Simplicity Legacy XL line. It was really no contest. The Kubota is an entirely different class of machine than those two. I never looked at the "1" line of Deere as I didn't care a lot for the dealers around here and their financing wasn't all that great.

The Kubota was diesel, 4WD, built like a tank, and had a FEL in that price. It also has the rear PTO and 3PT hitch included. I was barely able to get just basic tractors with a deck for that price in Deere or Simplicity.

Cut wise, I've got the basic 54" "finish" cut. There's a fine cut deck available in 48" and 54", but the 1860 only can do the smaller one. But it will take the 54" regular deck...odd. Anyhoo...blades are a bit dull out of the box. Those need to be sharpened, but these things are massive chunks of steel. The cut is decent, especially on some scruffy pasture like areas I take care of. On my more manicured yard you can tell the blades are dull. Some of the grass is broke instead of cut. I was going to get the mulching kit, but was going to try it "normal" normal first. It's a side ejection (right side) and it fans out the clippings so far that it doesn't hay row it like other mowers would do. I don't see a lot of need for a mulching kit. It also doesn't clump a lot of stuff under the deck either so that's a plus. As far as height goes, I take care of a half acre pasture area that can be close to a foot tall. If I crank up the RPM's it'll blow through it with little drama. Keep the RPM's under 2000 and it'll bog. For basic grass it chews through it at very low RPM and just purrs along.

The deck is built like a friggen tank. I'd wager it's close to 200 pounds. Removing it is a bit of a pain in the ass honestly. It helps with the FEW. You can lift the front end up to give you some more space to work with. To remove you have to pull pins on all tires, lower them, and turn them sideways. Then you lower the deck, pull the pins on the hydraulic arms, and raise them back up. Pull the PTO and hope you have enough clearance to slide the deck out from under it. I had to remove some leveling bolts to get the deck to slide under the lift arms. There wasn't enough clearance, even with a lot of wiggling. Deere definitely has the upper hand with the drive-over 7iron decks. You just back over them and hook up. Awesome. No so with the Kubota. But I needed to remove it to some digging work as the 54" deck wouldn't let me get close enough to the sidewalls I was working with and it would bog down in the mud on me.

One thing I've read is that you have to be careful running with the deck off. I guess there is a very delicate fan for the HST that is very exposed and can implode by getting something as benign as a twig near it. I'll be looking into fabricating some kind of under armor to shield it for brush demo work when the deck is off.

I also picked up the tooth bar from the site bxpanded.net. Very nice product for $250 and is a night and day difference in being able to engage hard packed clay soil. Also makes quick work of blading off weeds and scrub brush. Great purchase.

 

[vi edit]

make sure you put some counterweight on the back end when you are using the loader. I've blown out the front bearings on my L series twice. When you have a good load up front, it can teeter on the front axle on rough terrain.

Yeah, I'll probably grab one of those carry-all frames that attach to the 3PT and box it out and load it down with some leftover bags of crummy portland cement for another 250+ pounds. It'll be more useful long term than a dedicated ballast box.